Not Easily Forgotten
by jayJ530
Summary: A guest lecture brings up old memories.


**A/N: Dedicated to and mostly inspired by a very good friend of mine. **

**Don't own _Artemis Fowl_**

* * *

"You ready for that guest lecture?" Trouble asked.

Holly glanced up from the e-files she was in the middle of filing. "What?"

"The guest lecture you're doing on the Fowl Manor siege. Please don't tell me you didn't get the memo," Trouble said, frowning.

Holly sighed, frowning as well. "Look Commander, I'm really swamped right now. Can't they find someone else to do it?"

"No," Trouble replied. Holly opened her mouth to speak, but Trouble shook his head, cutting her off. "This is not a request, Wing Commander. You _will_ do this guest lecture."

Holly glared angrily at him as he walked away.

****

"_I'm being promoted. To Wing Commander."_

_Holly refrained from saying what they both already knew, that a promotion would mean her being trapped behind a desk, visits to the surface almost nonexistent._

"_Wing Commander Holly Short. Has a nice ring to it," Artemis said, smiling slightly._

_Holly laughed. "Yeah, I guess."_

"_Congratulations."_

_Their eyes met and Holly returned his smile._

"_Thanks," she replied._

_They sat in a fragile silence, neither wanting to shatter it and send them both tumbling back into the real world. A place where things were changing far too fast and perhaps not for the better._

****

"What do you mean I can't mention Mulch's involvement?" Holly asked, startled.

Foaly shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "Well it's just that "officially" Mulch was never there."

"What?" Holly stared at him, mystified. "Why?"

"It's a long story," Foaly told her, not meeting her gaze. "You'll have to ask Trouble about it sometime."

Holly sighed. Closing her eyes, she gently began to massage her throbbing temples.

"Anything _else_ I'm not allowed to mention during this damn lecture?" she snapped.

Foaly cleared his throat, still refusing to look at her. "Well…" He paused when he heard Holly hiss angrily. "Maybe I should send you over a file. You know – a list of what to say and what _not_ to say."

Holly groaned. "I can still talk about Butler beating up that troll though, right?"

Foaly smiled and turned so that their eyes met. "Don't worry, not only can you tell them about it, you can show them the recording."

Holly grinned, thinking that giving this lecture might not be so terrible after all.

****

_She was beautiful: this doe eyed creature with cream-colored hair. Holly watched as she walked down the aisle towards Artemis. The boy stood watching his bride, a feverish intensity in his eyes. No, not a boy – he had been a man for years now, though it was hard for Holly to think of him as anything but the child she had first met._

_No, not a boy. And now he was about to become a husband; start a family. He was about to begin a journey that Holly could not be a part of. _

_Holly wondered if perhaps she should feel jealously or at least sadness about all of this, but as she watched Artemis smile at his pretty new wife with a look of absolute love, all she felt was joy._

****

Judging by the look the young elf was giving her, he clearly didn't believe a word she was saying. Holly sighed, feeling tired.

"He already had a copy of the Book," she explained. "He managed to track down a renegade sprite and convince her to let him see it."

"Yeah, but the Book is in _gnomish_," the elf said insistently. "How was he able to read it?"

Holly snorted. "We're talking about _Artemis Fowl_ here. He was able to figure out how to escape a time-stop. Translating gnomish to English would have been, well, child's play for him."

There was a rustle of quiet laughter at the pun. The young elf simply crossed his arms, still looking unconvinced. Holly stifled a groan.

****

_Holly leaned over the edge of the crib to peer down at the sleeping infant._

"_Kind of looks like one of the twins when they were babies," she observed, keeping her voice low._

_Artemis chuckled quietly. "That's exactly what mother said when she first saw him."_

_Holly glanced up at her friend. He was standing on the other side of the crib smiling down at his young son._

"_Is that why you didn't name him Artemis, because he doesn't look like you and your dad?"_

_Artemis gave her an amused look. "Despite the fact that Bowie means "yellow haired," he wasn't named that instead of Artemis due to looks. It's more symbolic. I suppose you could say it was my way of marking the beginning of a new Fowl legacy."_

_Holly nodded and returned to watching the slumbering baby. His chest rose and fell rhythmically as he breathed through gently pursed lips. His right hand opened and closed compulsively. Holly gently reached down and placed her index finger into his open palm, smiling as his tiny hand closed around it._

"_You ever planning on having children of your own?" Artemis asked suddenly._

_Holly bit back a laugh. "Not likely. First of all, I would have to get married and then well…" She shook her head. "The LEP is my life. I don't need kids. Don't really want them either."_

_But as she looked down at little Bowie who was still clutching her finger tightly, she wasn't so sure._

****

The students were all watching the recording with rapt attention. Even Mr. Cynic – as Holly had dubbed the annoying young elf who had decided to take it upon himself to question everything she said – had sat these last few moments in complete silence, his eyes wide. Holly grinned, enjoying herself for the first time since she had started this lecture.

The audience gave a little "ooh" as the troll fell to the ground unconscious. There was a collective gasp as Butler pushed the troll out of the Manor's front door.

"And don't come back!" Butler shouted from the screen.

There was a smattering of applause as the recording came to an end. Mr. Cynic raised his hand. Holly rolled her eyes.

"Yes?"

"This recording wasn't altered right? That's exactly the way it happened?" he asked.

"Yep, that's exactly how it happened. I was right there when it did, so I should know," she replied.

The boy fell silent, and for once his face was free of all traces of doubt. In fact, he looked a little awed.

Holly turned her attention to the rest of the students. "Any other questions?"

Much to her amusement, almost every hand immediately shot up.

****

_Artemis was standing alone in front of the grave. Holly approached him slowly, not certain if he would appreciate company now. He turned and their eyes met. He motioned for her to come stand next to him._

"_It seems so strange for him to be gone, really gone. He was the only constant in my life. And now… Now nothing seems constant," Artemis said, his voice soft._

_Holly reached out and took his hand. She stared up at him, watching as he blinked back tears._

"_But I suppose, after having to put up with me all these years, he's earned some rest," Artemis continued, attempting a small smile._

_Holly gently squeezed his hand. "I'm sure, given the choice, Butler would have wanted to stay here and continue protecting you." She paused, blinking back tears of her own. "He loved you."_

"_I know," Artemis whispered._

_For a long time, they simply stood there hand in hand – lending what strength they could to each other._

****

"He wanted a wish?"

Mr. Cynic's skepticism had returned. Holly wanted to throttle him. She couldn't help but think that the kid should really get a job in Internal Affairs. He would fit right in there.

"Yes, he wanted a wish. He asked me to cure his mother. And in return he gave me half of the gold."

"But why only half?" Mr. Cynic pressed. "Surely you could have convinced him to give you more. Did he really care so little about returning his mother to full health?"

Holly narrowed her eyes at him. "No, he cared a great deal. It's just complicated. You weren't there, so you can't really understand."

The young elf gave a little huff, but let the matter drop. Out of the corner of her eye, Holly saw another student timidly raise their hand. She turned and saw a shy looking pixie staring at her expectantly.

"Yes?" Holly said, nodding towards the girl.

"I was just wondering, I mean, if he did all of this to you, why did you agree to work with him later on? You must have hated him," she said softly.

Holly frowned, trying to come up with a suitable response. "You're right," she said finally, shrugging. "I did hate him. But people change. He wasn't the same person the next time I saw him."

Another student raised his hand; a dwarf this time. "What was different about him?" he asked when Holly motioned for him to speak.

Holly smiled. "He was sorry."

****

_Holly sat on the edge of Artemis' bed wondering where all the time had gone. It seemed like just yesterday the two of them had been trapaising about the globe on their various adventures. Then she had blinked and the boy she had known had become the person before her now. His black hair had long since turned completely white, his pale face was now covered in wrinkles. But as he opened his eyes to look at her, they still contained the same cool intelligence they always had._

"_Holly." His voice was raspy, tired sounding._

"_Yes Arty?" Holly asked, reaching for him._

"_Holly, you came." His hand found hers and he gave it a weak squeeze._

"_Of course. Of course I came." Holly lifted his hand, resting it against her cheek. _

"_I'm glad. I would have hated to go without saying goodbye."_

_Holly forced back tears. "Arty, you don't have to go yet."_

_Artemis sighed. "I'm afraid I do. It's my time, Holly."_

_Holly closed her eyes, feeling a single tear escape and trail slowly her cheek._

"_I'll miss you," she whispered._

_Artemis' face grew tender. He pulled his hand free from her grasp and gently traced his fingers beneath her left eye – his eye._

"_Don't worry," he told her, smiling. "I doubt you'll ever be completely rid of me."_

_Holly forced herself to smile back. She leaned forward and stroked his cheek._

"_Well go on then. Natalie is waiting for you."_

"_Yes, Natalie." Artemis' gaze grew distant as his thoughts turned to his wife. _

_Holly watched as he closed his eyes. His breathing slowed and finally stopped. Shaking slightly, Holly leaned down to kiss his forehead. Then, knowing that not even fairy magic could bring him back to her now, she got up and flew away, leaving a piece of her already fractured heart behind._

****

Holly walked through the front door of her house feeling utterly exhausted. If Trouble ever tried to get her to do another lecture, she was going to quit. She could always go into security or be a pilot or _something_.

"Mom! Mom!"

Holly was nearly knocked over as the small red-headed boy threw himself at her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist.

"Hey Arty, how was school?" she asked, ruffling her son's hair.

"Great! Mom, you have to see what I made in class," he said, taking her hand and starting to tug her down the hall.

Holly laughed. "Just a sec, ok? I'll come see it in just a moment, promise."

Her son sighed, but let go of her hand and headed to his room without protest. Holly smiled as she watched him go. She headed towards her own room, stripping off her jacket before going into the bathroom and splashing some water on her face.

"How did the lecture go?"

Holly didn't bother turning as her husband came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder.

"Ok I guess. I just hope I never have to do one ever again."

Ash laughed. "What, it didn't make you feel all reminiscent about the good ol' days?"

Holly glanced at her reflection. Almost without thought, her hand came up and rested just beneath her left eye.

_Don't worry, I doubt you'll ever be completely rid of me._

Holly turned around in Ash's embrace, pressing her face against his shirt.

"Mmm, a little. But mostly, it just made me realize how much I like the way things are now."

* * *

A/N: I was looking up Irish names on a baby names website and came across Bowie and decided that just HAD to be Artemis' son's name. ^_^

I SWEAR that I'll have the second chapter of _No More Compromises_ done soon. I've just been so distracted lately...


End file.
